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No. 5 Stanford Travels South for Santa Clara Classic

Stanford, Calif.- No. 5 Stanford had a very successful weekend in Boston, coming out with two tough victories and winning the BU Terrier Classic. Last Friday, Aug. 31, the Cardinal beat host Boston University 2-0 and then No. 10 University of Connecticut on Sunday, to start the season 2-0.

This Week: The road doesn't get any easier as Stanford comes back to the Bay Area with matches against No. 11 Virginia (2-0-0) and No. 2 Notre Dame (1-0-1) in the SCU/adidas Classic. The action begins Friday night at 5:00 p.m. when Stanford takes on the Virginia Cavaliers at Buck Shaw Field in Santa Clara, Calif. On Sunday, Stanford will meet No. 2 ranked Notre Dame at 11:00 a.m., also at Buck Shaw Field.

Still to Come: After the Santa Clara/adidas Classic, Stanford will open its home season at Maloney Field with matches on Sept. 14 against University of Missouri and on Sept. 16 against No. 12 Rutgers University.

Moving Up the Ranks: Stanford has now moved up to No. 5 in the NSCAA/adidas rankings, after starting the season at the No. 9 spot. In the current SoccerBuzz poll the Cardinal came in at No. 7 spot after the 2-0 weekend.

O'Hara Shines: Sophomore Kelley O'Hara shined on the first weekend of the 2007 season, playing a part in all three of Stanford's goals in the first two games. Against Boston University, O'Hara scored a goal in the 34th minute and later assisted on freshman Morgan Redman's goal in the 79th minute. In the second game against No. 10 Connecticut, O'Hara scored the only goal of the entire match in the 81st minute to give the Stanford team its second victory of the young season. O'Hara, comes off a freshman season in which she was an All-Pac-10 First Team selection and also was a Soccer Buzz Freshman of the Year finalist.

Riley in the World Cup: Stanford sophomore Ali Riley is currently in China for the Women's World Cup as a member of the New Zealand National team. Riley's father, a professor at UCLA, was born in New Zealand and Riley holds dual citizenship. Volunteer assistant coach Nicole Barnhart is also in the World Cup, representing the United States. Barnhart, who was a three-time All-American on the farm, was one of the three goalies selected to the team.

The Cardinal Highlights: Rachel Buehler returns to lead the Cardinal defense in 2007 after earning All-American honors and All Pac-10 First Team honors last season. The defense that Buehler anchored last season recorded 15 shutouts and allowed a mere .55 goals per game. Redshirt senior Shari Summer returns to the midfield for her fourth season as a starter, after earning All Pac-10 First Team honors as well. Kelley O'Hara returns to the Cardinal after being the first Stanford freshman to earn All Pac-10 First Team honors since 2000.

Playing the Best: This season Stanford will face many of the top women's soccer teams in the country and half of the members of the 2006 College Cup. In total, the Cardinal face nine teams ranked in the Soccer Buzz Preseason Top-30, as well as eight teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season. Nine Stanford opponents were ranked in the NSCAA Preseason Poll, including UCLA, Oregon, USC, and California from the Pac-10. Five of Stanford's first seven games are against teams ranked in the Top 25 and only one of those games will be played at Maloney Field.

Stanford in the Tournament: Last season Stanford completed its 19th consecutive season with 10 or more victories and went to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth straight year. Despite having a very young team, the 2006 Cardinal had one of the most successful seasons in the program's history, after it finished with a 15-6-2 record and advanced to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

Scouting the Cavaliers: Head Coach Steve Swanson returns for a 9th season in Charlottesville and owns a 100-39-14 record behind the Cavaliers' bench. The former Stanford head coach from 1996-99, led Virginia to a 12-8-2 record last season and was able to advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Virginia enters this week with the No. 11 ranking in the NSCAA/adidas poll and comes into the game with a 2-0 record after two shutouts against Delaware and West Virginia. Virginia is led by seniors Shannon Foley and junior Becky Sauerbrunn, both of whom were named All-ACC last season. Redshirt Freshman Chantel Jones leads the Cavaliers in net and has posted shutouts in both career starts.

Series with Virginia: Stanford heads into Friday's match with a 2-2 overall record against Virginia in the program's history. The last meeting between the schools was a 3-1 Stanford victory back on Sept. 15, 2000.

Scouting the Fighting Irish: Head Coach Randy Waldrum returns for a 9th season in South Bend and owns a 167-24-6 record leading the Irish. Notre Dame went 25-1-1 last season and advanced to the NCAA Championship before falling to North Carolina 2-1. Notre Dame enters the weekend with the No. 2 ranking and comes into the match with a 1-0-1 record. The Fighting Irish are led by junior Kerri Hanks who was the 2006 national player of the year after scoring 22 goals and adding 22 assists in her sophomore campaign. Junior Brittany Bock also leads the Irish after recording 12 goals in her sophomore season.

Series with Notre Dame:The Cardinal head into Sunday's match with a 3-5-1 overall series record with Notre Dame. Their most recent meeting was a 1-0 loss back on Sept. 3, 2004.